Health Care

Henry Ford Hospital cardiologist and Syrian native Khaldoon Alaswad and his mother, Aisheh Alaswad. Her plans to visit him from Syria were put on hold by the U.S. travel ban.

Henry Ford Hospital cardiologist Khaldoon Alaswad was happy to finally see his 78-year-old mother, Aisheh, at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. After a half-day trip, she arrived from Syria on Monday evening.

It was only six weeks ago when Alaswad was upset because his mother was notified that her March 14 visa interview was canceled in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's executive order that banned immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

But after massive public protests and successful court appeals reversed Trump's first order, which courts ruled was unconstitutional, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut notified Aisheh that it had rescheduled her visa interview appointment. Ironically, her appointment remained March 14 after her granddaughter, Elsa, rescheduled it. She was approved and told to come back Friday to pick up her visa and passport.

Even as Trump has promised to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, Alaswad said his mother got on a plane in Beirut, Lebanon, and made the journey without only a 90-minute delay at the airport. A second Trump executive order was also refused by appellate courts in Hawaii and Maryland.

"I was very pleased she got her visa. It was a surprise to me, but I always knew America is a fair country and the separation of powers in the Constitution prevents any one person, even the president, from doing what he wants," said Alaswad, who was born in Syria and has been an American citizen since 1999.

Elsa Alaswad, who accompanied her grandmother on the flight, said it was ironic that Lebanese officials made boarding difficult, but they were warmly welcomed once they arrived in Detroit.

"I had to fight the Lebanese Lufthansa clerk to get her on the plane and that took one and a half hours of arguing," Elsa said. "It was a huge inconvenience to me and to her and he almost made us miss our flight. So our trip was not completely without incident."

However, once the plane arrived in Detroit, Elsa said the mood changed.

"We were greeted by a very nice federal agent who welcomed me home and told me he was happy to have my grandmother here," Elsa said. "Perhaps that is where the irony lies, because I did not expect to be so welcomed here and treated with such disrespect in Lebanon."

Going forward, one of Alaswad's concerns is the health of his mother. She is suffering from heart and renal failure. Last month she had a knee replacement. On top of that, Alaswad's mother's house in Daraa was recently hit by a stray bomb.

"She heard the fighting and it was on the west side of the house. She decided to sleep in my room on the east side and it was lucky because the bomb hit the west side," said Alaswad, who also director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the Edith and Benson Ford Heart and Vascular Institute at Henry Ford Hospital.

On Monday, Aisheh was to get on a plane with her granddaughter, Elsa, a medical student graduating in May, who is helping her make the long trip.

"Mom needs a wheelchair to travel. It will not be easy for her," Alaswad said.

But Aisheh made it. "She is safe and sound at home" he said.

A final concern Alaswad had was whether his mother would get a one-visit visa or a normal three or five-year, multivisit visa. She received a two-year, multi-visit visa.

"I want her to stay longer than the two months she agreed to," he said, adding: "I'd like her to stay at least six months. But she wants to go home sooner to fix her house."